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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.